


Hearts Beat in Time

by AnotherFan (imagine_asagao)



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Football, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, M/M, Marching band and football team rivalry, Whizzer doesn't die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-05 19:32:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17924990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagine_asagao/pseuds/AnotherFan
Summary: Marvin is the band director at Murville High where Whizzer has just become the newest football coach.  As their job dictates, they hate each other.  But after seeing the truth of the matter, the two start to warm up to each other.  And their friends meddle.  Of course they do.  (Rating may change)Updates every Friday





	1. Learning Drill

**Author's Note:**

> "I have lots of other stuff I should be writing. That's why I only do one shots."  
> Uh, well...  
> You can see how well I stuck to that  
> So I had this idea and didn't write it for a few days, but then I got stuck at home and started writing it.  
> Whoops.  
> Hopefully you enjoy it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a short chapter introducing everyone

A whistle sounded.  “Run a lap!” Emma, one of the drum majors, called.  Marvin watched the teenagers jog past him, some doing their best, some not even making any kind of effort, and the rest somewhere in between those two extremes.  He had been the band director at Murville High for a few years, and the kids never seemed to change. He grabbed the long ranger and waited for the kids to finish the lap around the track.

“Okay, we’re going to be running what we know of the show so far, and then we’ll be learning the last few sets of the show.   _Yes_ , you’re playing your instruments and doing your choreography for this run through,” Marvin said, the speaker amplifying his words.  “Whenever they’re ready, go ahead and start,” he said to the drum majors before going up to the stands to watch the progress the kids had made in just a few days.

“Did you hear about the new football coach?” Mendel, the assistant band director, asked as he sat down.

“No, but it’s not like he’ll make a difference,” Marvin said. “Those kids don’t want to be there; I’ve overheard them in the halls.  You can’t force kids to care.”

"He's ex-NFL," Mendel said.

"Great.  So the school board can furlough however many teachers it wants due to 'budget concerns' but they can afford to hire ex-NFL players," Marvin grumbled.

"I know you're not happy about Trina losing her job-" Mendel said.  Marvin let out a short, humorless laugh. "-and neither am I, but the sponsors are paying for the new coach.  We needed a new one, anyways.  Coach Barry was well past the age of retirement."

"Weren't they going to just not replace the people that retire?" Marvin asked.

"He was the only male gym teacher, Marvin," Mendel said.  Cordelia, the guard instructor, joined them up on the bleachers.

"What're we talking about, boys?" she asked as she sat down.

"How awful this school is," Marvin said.

"Marvin's upset that Trina got furloughed while they hired a new high profile football coach and gym teacher," Mendel explained.

"I was going to bring up the topic of divorce, and then she lost her job.  I can't do that to her!" Marvin said.

"She'd have people to provide for her," Mendel said.

"How would the two of you feel if she were to start dating you immediately after divorcing me?" Marvin asked. "I fully approve of you two dating, but for posterity, I'd expect you guys to wait a bit."  Their conversation was interrupted by the drum majors starting the show.

 

 "So that's the marching band?" Whizzer asked the nurse, Charlotte, as they watched the band practice through the fence.

"Yep.  You're not going to like hearing this, but they're better than the football team," Charlotte said.

"I plan to change that," Whizzer said as he pushed himself away from the fence.  It's not like he wanted to be there; he was only doing it because someone asked a favor of his mother, but as long as he was there, he would do the best he could.  It's not like he could go back to the NFL.

 

"So what do you think the new coach is like?" Cordelia asked the two men at lunch. 

"Probably a snob who thinks he's better than all of us just because he used to be NFL," Marvin grumbled as he ate the lunch that Trina packed for him.

"Or maybe he's really nice and helping our football team.  They need all the help they can get," Mendel said.

"I've heard he's hot," Cordelia said, nudging Marvin.

"Stop it," he said, wheeling away from her on his desk chair.

"I guess the band kids are getting to you," she said. "You used to be okay with your sexuality."

"Yeah, that was when I thought I could divorce Trina and get a job at another school," Marvin said.

 

"How was band camp?" Trina greeted Marvin and Jason as they entered their house.

"Great," Jason said as he rolled his eyes and threw his bag on the ground before disappearing in his room.

"I don't think he likes playing the horn," Trina said.

"It's marching band season; he plays the mellophone.  And he's the only one.  We need him; he can't quit," Marvin said.

"Okay, dear," Trina said as she went to cook dinner.  Marvin flopped on the couch in the family room.

"There's a new football coach," he called to Trina.  "Ex-NFL."

"Oh.  Well.  That'll be nice for the kids," she called back.

"I hate this school," he said.

"I know, dear," she replied.

 

The next day, some freshmen decided that they could just be late to band camp.  As a punishment, the whole band had to run five laps instead of the normal one lap.  It was during these laps when a young, fit man approached Marvin and the rest of the band staff.

"Which one of you is Marvin Cohen?" he called.

"That's me.  Who are you?" Marvin replied.

The stranger came to a stop in front of the group and allowed them to inspect him before speaking.  "I'm Whizzer Brown, the new football coach.  You're on our playing field."


	2. Fishing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got really excited about posting this, and I finished it before Friday and couldn't wait for Friday to post it??? Yay, that's a step in the right direction!

"No, it's our field," Marvin said.  A few students ran past, they stared at the confrontation.

"It's the football field," Whizzer said as if he was explaining it to a baby.

"Yeah, and we're the only reason people attend the football games," Marvin said.

"The student section comes to games to get high," Cordelia interjected, quite unhelpfully.

"We're the only reason people look at the field," Mendel said, quite helpfully.

" _Thank_ you, Mendel.  No one wants to watch the football team lose again," Marvin agreed, glaring at Cordelia.

"But we still need to practice on the football field," Whizzer said.

"We had an agreement with Barry: we get it in the morning, and you get it in the afternoon," Marvin said.

" _Coach_ Barry," Whizzer corrected.

"Sure, Whiz.  Anyways, it's before lunch, so it's still our field.  You're welcome to watch our practice, but if you don't mind, I have a band to lead," Marvin said before turning to Emma who had finished her laps and was standing close enough to keep an ear and an eye on the exchange but still far enough away to not be intrusive.  "I think we're going fishing today," he said to her.  The students nearby groaned.

"You guys don't even need the field," Whizzer scoffed. "You're just going to waste you're time."

"Emma, let's fish to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.  If  _Coach_ Whizzer joins you guys, I'll let you all sing as loud as you want," Marvin said without taking his glare off of Whizzer.

"Please fish with us," Emma begged Whizzer. "Being able to sing will be the only thing that makes this bearable."  He looked at her, confused for a second, before smirking again.

"Yeah, sure," he shrugged.

"Perfect, go stand in the block," Marvin said. "Look, there's a spot."  Whizzer strode to the spot and turned so he faced the drum majors and the directors.

"Is this a good idea?" Mendel whispered to Marvin.

"I just want to show him that we're not weak," Marvin whispered back.

"Hey, Marvin, why don't you join us!" Whizzer called.  The band cheered, showing their agreement.

"Fine," he said. "But only if Whizzer does box drills with us."  The band cheered louder, sadistic in their enjoyment of causing the band director and the football coach pain.  The only empty spot in the block was in front of Whizzer.  Internally cursing him, he stood in front of the football coach while the drum majors set up the song.  Once the song was on, they were first led through a series of slowly rising to their toes before slowly lowering back down.  The band kept singing even as they stood on their toes and flexed their feet one at a time.  Marvin regretted deciding on such a long song and allowing the band - most of whom were not in chorus - to sing along when they got to the screeching "Galileo's".  Marvin just hoped Whizzer was suffering with him.  That would teach him to respect the band.

Whizzer was enjoying himself.  He was certainly impressed as to how strong the band was.  It turned out fishing wasn't easy, but it still wasn't much trouble for him.  It was the person in front of him that he was most interested in.  Based on how he looked, Whizzer expected Marvin to not be particularly strong.  He could see how Marvin could be attractive - if you were into sad dads, which Whizzer wasn't.  It turned out his sad dad look was mostly from his clothing.  After staring at his back (and butt, if he wasn't lying) for six minutes, Whizzer decided that Marvin was stronger than he had first judged.

"Okay.  Who wants to teach Whizzer how to do box drills?  He _will_ be holding your instrument, so if you care about it, don't volunteer," Marvin said into a headset that was connected to a speaker.

" _Coach_ Whizzer," he corrected. "And I won't drop the instrument."  He looked around the students in the band, most of whom had their hands raised.  Marvin said something to one of the students standing by him that Whizzer didn't catch.

"Do you want to march with a sousa, bari sax, trombone, bari, or mello?" the student called to Whizzer.

"Mellow, I guess?"  It sounded like the safest bet.  Who knows what torture Marvin would try to force him through.

"Okay, Jason.  Go help him," she said.  The other kids started muttering about how unfair it was.  A young kid approached Whizzer carrying some kind of trumpet-y instrument.

"Hi, I'm Jason," he said. "So this is a mellophone, but we just call them mellos."  He held out the "mello" for Whizzer to grab.  "You hold it like this..."

As Jason taught him how to hold a mellophone and march with it as well as what a box drill was, Whizzer started to reconsider the band.  He knew they did a lot of work, but he never guessed just how much work it was.  Maybe he should've paid more attention to the band when he was in high school.  He'd remember to treat nicely the kids, at least.  How he treated Marvin would have to depend on how Marvin treated him.  He could give back what he took.  He deserved respect.  And he’d force Marvin to give it to him.

"Kid, are you ready to go?" Marvin called.

"Yeah," Jason said. "Good luck."  He jogged off the field as the drum majors called them to attention.  Whizzer stood with his heels together, toes apart, back straight, instrument in front of him, gaze slightly above the horizon.  Mendel was hitting a block with a drumstick, and they had to step off with their left foot.  That's what tripped Whizzer up the most.  Who thinks about what foot they step with?

Marvin must've told Mendel to keep going.  Each little offense would force them to do the exercise all over again, and never were they allowed to lower their instruments.  Whizzer could definitely see how band kids could be strong.  Would Marvin also be that strong?  Whizzer liked his men muscular, and that would certainly make Marvin seem like less of a sad dad.  Whizzer glanced at the woman next to him.  Wasn't that the lady that Charlotte liked?  Maybe he could try to get them together...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so next chapter there will be more Whizzer/Marvin interaction without the rest, and there's also Cordelia/Charlotte interaction, but if I were to stick with Marvin and Whizzer at the narrators, we won't see Cordelia and Charlotte interact until later. Should I add them in as narrators or keep this focused on Whizvin?


	3. Uniforms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... you probably got your hopes up with the chapter title. Sorry. The amount of swearing does increase  
> Also, Happy late Pi Day! Beware the Ides of March!

After deciding that the band students deserve respect (even if the band director didn't), Whizzer let the band have the field in the morning.  After deciding that it wasn't worth it to get into another argument with the new fit egotistical football coach, Marvin didn't intrude after lunch.  This meant that Marvin and Whizzer didn't see each other again until the band's picture day.  Picture day was the first day everyone wore their uniforms besides when they were trying them on for fitting.  "I want to see everyone on the field in ten minutes!" Marvin called.  He figured he'd be a little lenient with this since the freshmen would still be pretty clueless about putting their uniforms on.  He put his baton on his music stand and headed out to the football field.  It was after lunch, but the pictures had been taken on the football field back when he was still in band.  Surely Whizzer would respect tradition enough to allow them on the field.  Yeah, Marvin doubted that; he didn't think Whizzer thought much of traditions.  Oh wait, the cheerleaders had pictures before them, and the football team took them afterwards.  So Whizzer probably would understand.  Probably.

Marvin got there before anyone else and saw that the photographer was the same one as the last few years.  They acknowledged each other with a small wave and a nod before Marvin settled leaning on the fence to wait for Mendel and Cordelia, who were probably helping the students.  Marvin should probably be with them.  Oh well.  They were outside soon enough, and everyone was complaining about the heat.  Marvin couldn't blame them.  He wasn't wearing a wool uniform, and he was hot.  The photographer got the band on the band bleachers (or bland beachers, since no one seemed to be able to say band bleachers correctly.  Marvin himself still struggled after spending all of high school in marching band and teaching there for however long it was now) and ordered them around until he thought they were situated good enough for a picture.  After the big group picture, the flutes had their section picture first.  The other people in the band went to stand in line for individual pictures.

"How's Trina?" Mendel asked.

"She's how she always is," Marvin said. "I think I might bring the subject of divorce up soon."

"That's good, she deserves better than to be lead on," Mendel said.  Marvin opened his mouth to reply when - 

"Mr. Cohen!" the flute section leader called.  The trio of adults looked over to the flutes.

"Shit," Marvin said.  The heat was causing one of the flutes to have an asthma attack. "I'll get Charlotte; Cordelia, get her inside and get her uniform off; Mendel, keep an eye on everyone else," he ordered in a flurry before running off to the nurse's office.

When he got there, the lights were off, and Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck," he exclaimed and continued running to the weight room.  Charlotte was there, talking with Whizzer.

"Charlotte!" he yelled. "Liza's having an asthma attack!"

"I forgot it's picture day!" she yelled.  Marvin held the door open for her as she flew out to help Liza.

"You interrupted our conversation," Whizzer said, frowning with a spark in his eyes.

"One of my students cannot breathe because she's in a wool uniform and it's ninety degrees and humid, and it's too severe for her inhaler, and Charlotte has her nebulizer," Marvin explained.

"Why is she in band?" Whizzer asked.

"She's too stubborn," he said, smiling faintly.  She was a good player; he didn't want her to suffer, but if she wanted to do it, he wasn't going to stop her.

"Is someone with her?" Whizzer asked.

"Yeah, her section and Cordelia," Marvin replied.

"Good, good," Whizzer said, nodding.

"Why is what I do when a student of mine needs help any of your business?" Marvin demanded.

"Oh, I just happen to know that Charlotte likes Cordelia, and it's good opportunity for them to talk," Whizzer smirked.

"Wait, really?" Marvin asked. "Because Cordelia likes Charlotte."

"Oh, that's perfect," Whizzer said. "Do you want to play matchmaker?"

"No thanks, I'm terrible with love," Marvin said.

"You don't need to be good at love to set two people up on a date," Whizzer said.

"Listen, my first date with my... wife-" the face Marvin made for a split second didn't go unnoticed by Whizzer "-was us going to a science museum.  Neither of us like the science museum."

"Then why'd you go?"

"Neither of us wanted to admit that we didn't like the science museum and offend the other."

"Wow, great way to start a relationship."

"We made it work!"

Marvin sounded too defensive to Whizzer.

"Does it still work?" he asked.

"Yes!" Marvin replied.

"Are you sure?  It doesn't sound like it," Whizzer said.  He knew he was goading Marvin, but at the same time, if Marvin was unhappy, why was he covering it up?

"I am absolutely sure.  I know my relationships better than you," Marvin snapped.

"Okay.  It's just that I don't see many people being so defensive when they're happy with their relationships," Whizzer said, shrugging.  He had every intention of dropping the subject after that, but Marvin interrupted him before he could think of an unrelated question to ask him.

"You're an asshole," Marvin hissed as he stormed out of the room.

Whizzer stared at Marvin's retreating back.  He should really say something.  He may have gone a bit too far. "Marvin wait," he sighed.  Marvin stopped and slowly turned around.  "I... may have gone too far," he admitted. "I just didn't understand your reasoning."  It wasn't an apology, but it was the best Marvin was going to get out of him until he acted like a human.

"You did go too far," he said. "But I also need to get back to the band.  I still have an injured student I need to check on."

Marvin walked away, but Whizzer sensed that the animosity between them had gotten smaller, at least by a little bit.

 

Marvin was happy to be home.  The stress of picture day and the emotion of his talk with Whizzer and the scare of Liza needing her nebulizer were all over.  Trina wasn't home yet since she was at a job interview, so Marvin crashed on the couch and turned on the TV while Jason disappeared into his room.  An hour passed before the door opened as Trina returned home.  "How was the job interview?" Marvin called.

"It was fine.  Did you start dinner like I asked you?" Trina asked.  Marvin wracked his brain for when Trina asked him to make dinner before she sighed and asked "Did you not get any of my texts?"  Marvin pulled out his phone and saw that Trina had indeed sent him quite a few texts - and he hadn't replied to any of them.  "It's okay, I'll order takeout," she said, defeat sinking into her voice.  Marvin glued his eyes to the television, too guilty to look at Trina for all the pain he had caused her.  The sooner he could bring up the topic of divorce, the better.  Maybe he should ask someone for advice on how to do it.  Or maybe he needed to man up (he could already hear Cordelia scolding him and saying he should say grow up or toughen up) and just do it.  Maybe when she got a job.  But they were running out of time and places that were hiring if she wanted a job for the next school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally sat down and planned this whole thing out... I think it'll be ten chapters long. Also, if anyone has any opinions on what music band teacher!Marvin listens to and what instrument he started playing (My initial instinct is jazz and trumpet, but I desperately want to recommend some awesome classical music to you guys), then let me know! Or if you have any headcanons on what music Whizzer likes  
> Actually, after thinking about it, there's no way Marvin's _not_ a trumpet. But I would love your ideas about what music the two of them like, please


End file.
